Where has the Time Gone?

Two years ago today I went on my first date with Andrew. It was our freshman year of college, and somehow this boy had grabbed my attention, despite the fact that I was determined not to have a boyfriend my freshman year of college. I wanted to get to know people and not be tied down by anyone. My cousin Scott was a junior at Clemson at this point and had helped me transition to Clemson. When I say transition I mean Scott would pick up things for the grocery for me, come jump my car off when the battery went dead, answer my annoying phone calls the first few weeks when I would get lost on campus.

"Hey Scott, so I am standing by Tillman looking towards the library and need to get to Brooks. Can you please explain to me how to get there?"


He would patiently stay on the phone with me and explain to me step-by-step until I got to my destination. I am very directionally challenged and Scott was always my go-to guy whenever I needed something. It was so nice to have a family member around, and I am pretty sure it helped my mom sleep 100 times better at night. Anyways, I said all that because Scott studied abroad second semester that year. My mom teased (but was for real) saying,

"Well Laura, looks like you're going to have to find yourself a little boyfriend to help you out now that Scott is gone."


"Oh please Mom, I do not need a boyfriend or have any plans of getting one."


That was until I hung out with Andrew at the start of second semester. Andrew and I had been in two of the same classes my first semester at Clemson, which is actually very odd considering not only the size of Clemson, but also the fact that our majors are not similar at all. One of the classes we had together was microeconomics; we used to study together with a few other people in the class. Andrew never really caught my eye first semester. If you know Andrew at all, you know that he is very sarcastic and enjoys playfully teasing people. I actually remember being a little offended by him one time when he was joking around with me. I don't remember what he said, and I know it wasn't anything bad, but I remember thinking,


"I can't believe he just said that to me, he hardly knows me."


I am used to my brother joking around with me a lot, and I am sure it was something that Mitchell would have said to me, but I just remember being surprised that he was teasing me right after meeting me. Between that and the fact that he had a couple other girls chasing him at that point (not the other way around), I never really looked at Andrew as more than a friend. I do remember thinking he was cute when I realized he reminded me of Jim on "The Office." He not only acts like Jim, but also resembles him physically (and people tell him that all the time). Here is our very first picture together. This was taken my first semester at Clemson when we were just friends at FCA's Rollerboogie. It was an 80's theme if you couldn't tell. I might also add that this was the first picture that my mom ever saw of Andrew when I began talking about him. Great first impression-the jorts are the perfect touch.

Anyways, when I came back to Clemson after Christmas, one of the girls in my small group (one of my current roommates) had a little get-together at Mellow Mushroom for her birthday. Andrew was there and we ended up watching a movie after dinner with another friend. That was the night we kind of hit it off. Here is a picture from dinner that night.

Andrew and I started talking regularly after that. He began to come over and hang out on my hall some. At this point, he was still known as "Bio Boy" to the girls on my hall. Andrew and I had biology together so he became "Bio Boy." I have this thing where I regularly give people nicknames to distinguish them from others. I don't know why I do this, but I have done it for a long time, I even had "Bio Boy" in my phone instead of Andrew. He wasn't fond of the nickname, and after people learned his real name, the nickname fizzled out. Anyways, after a few weeks of hanging out, he asked me on a date, but wouldn't tell me where we were going. I love surprises so was excited to see where we were going. He did ask me if I liked Italian, so I knew that much. I remember telling my best friend Emily about it and she ruined the surprise by saying,

"Well, I bet you're going to Olive Garden in Anderson."

Dang it. Emily ended up being right. I am the type of person that loves surprises and wants to try to figure them out, but then I end up being really disappointed when I actually do figure them out. I didn't know that many places in Anderson, but she did. Olive Garden is one of the few Italian places around here, and I later found out it was Andrew's favorite restaurant.  We went to Olive Garden, then got some ice cream at Marble Slab, and then came back and watched a movie. I didn't take any pictures on the date, but here is a picture from a date we went on a year ago, one year after our first date. I wore the same outfit and everything, but of course, Andrew didn't remember that.

After our first date, we made it "official" a few weeks later. He caught my attention that January, and has kept it ever since. It turns out it is really convenient to have a boyfriend when there is a cockroach in your apartment, or when you need help unloading your car, or anything else along those lines :) I am just kidding, well sort of, but those aren't the real reasons I like Andrew. He loves Jesus, makes me laugh, and balances out my Type A personality with a much more relaxed one. We are pretty much opposites when it comes to hobbies, he loves sports and is athletic, while I love picking out my outfits, getting dressed up, decorating, cooking, etc. You get the picture. Somehow we make it work though, and I am so glad God put this boy in my life.